Address: 4-09 47th Rd., Long Island City, and www.nysparks.
com.
Gateway National Recreation Area encompasses 11 parks in
three regions. Operated by the federal government, the entire
park covers more than 26,607 acres and straddles three boroughs
(Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island) and two states (Monmouth
County, New Jersey is included). The entire circuit includes
locations for outdoor activities, such as swimming, hiking,
camping, boating, and bird-watching.
In Queens, the Jamaica Bay unit stretches from the shoreline
below Brooklyn’s Shore Parkway to dozens of uninhabited
islets in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, which leads
to the Atlantic Ocean. The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, one of
the best bird-watching areas in the Northeastern United States,
is located there. Roughly 9,155 acres, the refuge features salt
marshes, woodlands, estuaries, and sand dunes.
A few miles down the road is Jacob Riis Park, a public beach
by the Atlantic Ocean that is described in this section. The
stretch has a boardwalk and a landmarked bathhouse. The 200-
acre Breezy Point Tip is adjacent to Riis Park. Consisting of
dunes, marshes, and oceanfront beach, it is a nesting area for
many birds, such as the piping glover. During their migrations,
different kinds of hawks rest and nest there. Plus, diamondback
turtles lay eggs and horseshoe crabs mate in the sand dunes of
the Wildlife Refuge at certain times.
From Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, the
Riis Park Beach Bazaar is open near the water in the vicinity of
167-02 Rockaway Beach Blvd. This mile-long shopping Mecca
features vendors of everything from clams to pizza to tacos to
lemonade to ice cream.
Meanwhile, Jacob Riis Landing is home to one of NYC’s bestkept
secrets, American Princess Cruises. Captain Tom Paladino
operates a 95-foot-long aluminum cruising vessel that can handle
250 passengers at a time. More information on the beach, bazaar,
and boat are in the Rockaway section.
Juniper Valley Park stretches over more than 55 acres in the
heavily residential Middle Village neighborhood. It offers space
for baseball, basketball, bocce, football, handball, soccer, tennis,
and track.
It was long a swamp until Arnold Rothstein, the gangster known
for fixing the 1919 World Series during the Black Sox Scandal,
bought 88 acres for development. He tried to sell the property
to the city as an airport during the 1920s, but he was murdered
104 QUEENS IN YOUR POCKET • www.itsinqueens.com
/www.nysparks
/www.itsinqueens.com
/www.nysparks
/www.itsinqueens.com
